Spirit of the Wolf
by ShadowMoonDancer
Summary: When an injured wolf appears in Daine's room how was anyone to know how much trouble it would bring? The wolf turns out to be a girl seeking sanctaury from enemies that one of the royal family already ran from. Complete Summary inside. Rated M for later.
1. An Unexpected Arrival

Complete Summary: A young woman comes to Tortall searching for a safe haven from those that hunt her

Complete Summary: Two of the wolves from Dunlath fief appear in Daine's rooms with an injured she-wolf. But what happens when the she-wolf turns out to be a person? Not just any person either, but a royal relative seeking sanctuary from her home land just as her cousin did so many years ago? Can the kingdom cope with such a relative? Can the girl find a place where she fits in? And what about her friend that most people fear? What to do about him?

**Disclaimer: How in the world could I be Tamora Pierce? She wrote **_**Alanna: The First Adventure**_** before my older brother was born. **

**A/N: Okay, yes, I promised myself that I wouldn't start any more stories until I got the first chapter on my next Harry Potter story started, but this plot line kept banging around in my head and distracting me. So read and enjoy hopefully. **

Oh and here is the language key:

"normal speech"

'_animal speech_'

_personal thoughts_

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Arrival

Daine and the dragonet Kitten walked wearily up the stairs to the room that they shared with Daine's husband, Numair, and their two children, Sarralyn and Rikash. The family had just arrived back from an envoy trip to the Copper Islands to assess the new queen and to visit with Alanna's daughter, Aly.

Numair had taken the children down to a small nursery for the day before his classes started, while Daine went to check on a horse that had been cut up in a recent skirmish with bandits. She had been able to heal the horse but was very tired and just wanted to collapse.

As she unlocked the door, Kitten started to whine, putting Daine instantly on guard. Numair had enemies that wouldn't mind using her and the children against him. She had enemies as well, but few were strong enough to get past Numair's wards. Opening the door cautiously, she looked inside. A thick fog floated out through the opening. This made Daine's hair stand on end, but Kitten stopped whining and sniffed the air before chortling a sound of both surprise and welcome and darted into the room. Daine opened the door fully and was surprised to see Leaper and Chaser inside her rooms being greeted by the young dragon. They were a part of a pack of wolves that inhabited a northern fief of Tortall, Dunlath. How and why they were here could wait for the moment, as they had a severely injured wolf held between them.

"Who is this, Chaser? And how did you get in here?" Daine asked, hurrying over to the injured wolf.

'_We don't know her name. She came into our den like this. Brokefang asked Old White what to do with her because he knew that she would not survive without help and the two legger Healer left the castle a moon ago,'_ Chaser said as Daine moved to pick the wolf up and put her on a nearby table. She was young and light for a wolf, which was troubling enough. What troubled Daine more were the injuries. Crossbow bolts that had since been pulled out made some, but others looked like a Stormwing's claw marks.

Daine tried to heal her and was unsuccessful. Figuring she was just tired, she used a ready-made spell of Numair's to make the room cold. Still unsuccessful, she looked at the wolf more closely. She had Wildmagic like all animals did, but this was different this looked like a human's version of the magic, and there was something else as well.

Standing up in surprise Daine realized that this wasn't a wolf but a person in wolf form.

_Why would the wolf god take an interest in someone that was not his own?_ she thought to herself. Putting the thought aside for the moment, she bandaged the girl wolf up the best she could before calling for her darkling friend, Raisin. "Go fetch Duke Baird for me, Raisin. Tell him it's an emergency." The darkling nodded once and rolled itself into a tight ball and rolled out of a window.

The Duke ran in soon after and looked over the situation. He tried to heal the girl wolf but couldn't; the magic rebound off of her every time. He ended up bandaging her the best he could.

"I don't know if it's just because she's in the form she is in or because of something else. Has she woken since she got here?" the Duke asked. "I think I can save her if nothing becomes infected, but this would be much easier if she were in human form. I'm not very talented with the healing of animals. If she wakes up, I think she'll survive. I've done everything I can," he finished with a sigh. Daine nodded and showed him out after they moved the wolf to a cot that Daine kept in the rooms for animals that took time to heal.

* * *

Back in northern Tortall, two creatures spoke to one another. This wasn't odd for the area, what was odd was that one was a Stormwing while the other was an elderly wolf. The Stormwing apparently got the answers to the question he had asked and took off carefully so as not to blow too much dust into the air. The wolf looked after him and shook his head before going back to the den, _I'm getting too old for new things,_ Brokefang then laughed at himself remembering another old wolf saying the same years before.

**I know that this is short, but it is just the first chapter I'm trying to get my bearings on this story. Also, the books tell us that Stormwings have a hard time bearing young but it doesn't tell how they are born so I will be taking liberties in the near future with the process. Just as I will be taking liberties with how they age. If you don't like it stuff it I really don't care. Have a nice day.**** :) **


	2. Questions

**Chapter 1: Questions**

She opened her eyes to darkness. That was usual though. She usually only woke during the night to hunt. During the day she hid. This felt different though. She could see vague shapes moving around as the room, and it was a room, brightened slowly. It was as if she was seeing everything through a thick veil. This scared her because it could only mean that they had captured her. The ones that wanted to kill her for being born to the wrong family. The sounds were muffled as well. She wished she could understand what they were saying.

A small blue creature came up to her and looked at her carefully. It made a trilling noise before chirping. '_It's all right. Mama won't hurt you. Who are you?_'

She didn't know why she could understand the creature when she couldn't understand the people, but it made her realize something. She didn't know who she was! She whimpered and saw the three people stand and come over to where she lay.

* * *

The Duke Baird sighed, exasperated, as he straightened up from the table. It had been two weeks since the wolf appeared in Daine's rooms; the other two wolves had already gone back to their home.

"I've never seen anything like this. Her wounds are healing well enough on their own, but something is blocking my magic from healing her any faster. Have you had any luck with getting her to turn back?" he asked, taking a seat a few steps away where Daine and Numair were waiting for him.

"The only time I've ever seen anything like this is when Numair was stuck as a hawk. The only reason we got him back was because Alanna and Onua knew his name. We don't have a clue about her name," Daine replied while shaking her head.

"She also has a great deal of Wild Magic, but it feels different than the others that I've come across. More powerful, somehow, but also more fragile. I can only hope that she'll come back to us soon and explain this all," Numair added, hugging his worried wife.

They all looked over as Kitten trilled and chirped at the wolf and heard a whimper. Seeing the wolf's eyes open, they all got up and went over to her. They tried to get a response from her, but all they got back were glazed looks.

"Perhaps the arrows were drugged or poisoned with something that stays in the system," Daine said, confused. "She's making me dizzy like you did when you were stuck, dear."

"I don't think that's it. I haven't found any poisons in her blood, but then it could be something from the Stormwing's claws that is making her sick. You two of all people know how unsanitary Stormwings are," Duke Baird replied, running his hand through his hair.

"Have someone get me if anything changes. Jon wanted a report on our newest guest. Not that I'm sure what to tell him. She's still a wolf. We know about the same as when she arrived," the Duke said as they showed him to the door, their expressions looking sympathetic. The king had been nervous of late, almost as if Thayet were pregnant again.

* * *

The Duke made his way to his nephew's rooms and waited for a bit before being ushered in by a servant as a grimy messenger left.

King Jonathan the IV sat behind a desk reading a letter as his uncle came in the office. Looking up, he smiled and said, "Sit, sit Uncle. You look dead on your feet. How is our visitor?"

"She's awake, but that's the only change. I get the feeling that she's lost in some way. Daine can't talk to her, but then she could never talk to a human in an animal's body. Numair says she has a brand of Wild Magic that he doesn't recognize. He thinks that it might be more powerful than Daine's," the healer duke replied, sitting in a comfortable chair.

"How can that be possible? Her father was a god. The only way that her magic could be more powerful is if the girl's father were a god as well. And as far as we know, Weiryn hasn't been unfaithful to Daine's mother," the king muttered, thinking aloud.

"I don't know, my king, but I'm getting too old for guessing games. Maybe tomorrow will bring a new light on the subject. For tonight, I'm going to bed."

The king stood and said, "Of course, Uncle. Go get some rest. Neal and Yuki should be arriving soon. I'm sure you'll want to spend time with them and your new grandbaby."

With a wistful smile the Duke let himself out of the office and off to bed.

* * *

Not very far away, a Stormwing landed tiredly on a log and settled in for the night. _Just one more day. She'd better be there or that wolf will regret ever being whelped, _he thought to himself before falling into an exhausted sleep. 

* * *

**A/N: So sorry about the short chapters. I'm usually one of those people where the scroll bar is at most an inch long, (about three and a half centimeters for those outside of the US that don't know what I'm talking about inches), but after this the chapters should start getting longer. Thanks for reading and many thanks to **_**Kokou**_** for beta-ing this. She's also the one you need to thank for keeping me from rambling. Also, thanks to **_**Gina star**_** for reading my entire set of dribble and liking it. **


	3. Awaking

Thanks everyone for the reviews and for reading **Thanks everyone for the reviews and for reading. **

**And here is the language key:**

"normal speech"

'_animal speech_'

_personal thoughts_

**Sorry I forgot it last chapter. **

Chapter 3: Awaking

The Stormwing circled the castle several times at a great height. He didn't want to panic any of the inhabitants, but he didn't know what to do really. Sighing, he glided down into the forest and carefully took a perch on a large branch to think.

A squirrel looked out at him from a hole in the old oak tree. It started chattering at the Stormwing angrily when the immortal spoke. "Look squirrel, I can't understand but about half of what you're saying. I'm not here to do any harm. I'm just here looking for a friend. Some wolves said that they brought her here to the Wild Mage." The squirrel looked at him for a minute before scurrying down the tree.

Not long after it came back with a small flock of starlings. They motioned for the immortal to follow, so he took off and flew after them, careful not to clip one of them with his wings. They led him to a shuttered window with a small ledge near the top of one of the towers. They left him there and flew off somewhere.

Figuring that this was the place, he raised one of his claws and knocked on the shutters. He could hear movement inside and the shutters opened showing a young woman with dark shoulder length hair holding a baby boy in her arms. "What do you want?" she cautiously asked, setting the baby down in a crib and reaching for a crossbow.

"I'm not here to hurt anyone, but some wolves from the north said that I could find my friend here. She was in wolf form then, and injured. They said that they brought her to you," he replied as calmly as possible, for even he knew who this person was. The Wild Mage Daine, she could shoot him faster than he could fall off the ledge.

"How do I know that you're not the one that gave her some of her injuries? Some of them came from claws like yours," Daine responded keeping the bolt leveled on him.

"I was, I had just rescued her when an arrow got me in the back and I dropped her as a Stormwing on the other side came at me," he turned slowly, showing scars on his back that had just recently healed. "Look, just tell her that Lunian is here. She'll confirm my story. I promise that I'm not one you need to fear."

"It would be difficult to ask since she's stuck in her wolf form and won't respond to anyone except Kitten."

"She's still that way? Crap, she's gotten stuck again. Look, she gets stuck sometimes and starts to forget who she is and starts behaving more and more like the animal whose form she's wearing. Please let me in so I can get her changed back before it's too late. Please," the young Stormwing pleaded.

This took Daine aback. She hadn't met many Stormwings that acted so human. The last one died in the Immortal Wars. She didn't want to let this one in with that other Stormwing's namesake in the room, but she didn't want to leave the room for this Stormwing to just come in and kill the girl and leave.

Luckily, her problem was solved with Numair coming in the door. "You won't believe what some of the nobles are trying to get the king to…." Numair froze and brought his black gift up making his hands glitter.

"Wait Numair, he says he knows our guest. Take Rikash and put him to bed. Then come back out. He says he can help our guest," Daine said, never taking her eyes off the immortal perched in front of her. Her husband did as she asked and came back out his hands glittering again. Once he stood at Daine's side she said, "We're going to let you in Lunian, but you'd better go only where we tell you." Lunian nodded at this, "Good. Now you see that stone perch? Go to it and only it."

Lunian closed his wings tight to himself and jumped in the room before walking very clumsily over to the low perch. He only opened his wings once when he stumbled then closed them before the humans could think he was attacking. With another jump he landed on the perch and opened his wings enough to catch his balance.

"What's her name?" Numair said, standing between Lunian and the wolf.

"That's a touchy subject. It would be best if she told you herself," came the answer.

"Who was the on that shot her if you're the one that gave her the claw marks?"

"That's another question for her to answer."

"Why should we trust you at all? And how are you going to get her to turn back if we do let you?"

"I'm not asking for your trust. Just give me a chance to show you and to save my friend. As for the other question I'll say her name and some other stuff that has always brought her back before," Lunian said, becoming annoyed. The two humans looked at each other, communicating with looks and facial expressions. Neither noticed when Kitten slipped past them and stood before Lunian.

"Well, hello young one. I don't think I've ever seen a baby dragon, though I have met a couple of young basilisks though. How are you today? Has she talked to you by any chance?"

Numair and Daine started at his voice and were dumbfounded when Kitten nodded and chirped up at him.

"Sorry little one. I don't understand dragon yet. I haven't had much chance to work on it."

"What do you mean by 'talked to Kitten'?" Daine asked, recovering from her surprise.

"On… She can talk to all immortals, including dragons. Why, can't you?" Lunian answered looking confused.

"No. I can't, usually Kitten makes herself clear about what she wants, so that isn't much of an issue," Daine replied, lowering the crossbow. If Kitten trusted this stranger, then he was probably all right. "Do what you need to, then," she said and stepped aside, pulling Numair with her and letting Lunian see his friend. She had become so thin since he had last seen her. Daine had fed her an egg and grounded meat mixture, but she burned most of it off in no time at all.

Lunian hobbled over to the low table where she lay and looked down at her with slight annoyance. He looked back at the mage and asked, "Could you get a blanket to cover her with? She's very modest, you see."

Numair nodded and went through one door and came back with a large but light blanket. He tossed it over the girl in a wolf's body and stepped back. Lunian nodded his thanks and bent over and whispered in her ear so that the other two in the room couldn't hear, "Now look here, Missy Lia, now is not the time for you to be lazing around in a wolf's body. We've finally gotten to Corus and you're going to spend your time asleep. So unless you want that _zhir_ Anduo bastard's men to get here and tell them their story before you get the chance, then WAKE UP!" He yelled that last bit loud enough to make Daine and Numair jump.

With a roll of multicolored fog the wolf disappeared and when it cleared a thin, hazel-eyed girl was in its place. "No need to yell at me, Lunian. I was coming when you said my name. Oh I hurt! Where am I?" she asked groggily.

"You're at the palace in Corus, Tortall. Who are you and why are you here?" Numair said kindly as he tucked the blanket in around her.

The girl closed her eyes and licked her lips before saying, "My name is Ontillia _jian_ Wilima, the cousin to Queen Thayet, and I wish to ask for sanctuary from a man that wishes to destroy the _jian_ Wilima line," she replied very formally before sinking down into the table. "And could I also get some cloths?" she added with a sheepish grin.

* * *

Oh yes I'm slightly evil leaving it off like that, but I do have about half the next chapter written already. Thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	4. Lost Cousin

**Hi all! Sorry for the wait; I'm in college now (yeah, I know I can't believe it some days either), so updating is a bit more scattered. Love to my wonderful beta Kokou and to everyone that reviewed last chapter.**

Chapter 4: Lost Cousin

Again the two Tortallian's were astonished, but this time, Numair came out of his daze quicker. "Raisin," he called, "Please ask Inkblot to relay a message to the King. Tell him that our guest has awoken and wishes to talk to him and the Queen and that she claims to be the Queen's cousin. And that we have another visitor."

"Yes sir," the small creature said. "He'll be up after the noon council session. You don't need to attend. In his words, 'get the girl fed up but don't ask too many questions.'"

Numair nodded and left to get food for all of them while Daine went and got some cloths for the small girl from the stores. Sitting alone in the sitting room, the two foreigners stayed silent for the most part, then Kitten came up and looked at the girl for a moment before saying, _'Can you actually understand me?'_

Ontillia looked at the dragon a moment before responding. "Yes, why? Can't Lady Daine?"

'_No, she can only read the thoughts of animals and animal-like immortals. But I'm too young to do that with,'_ the dragonette said, turning a light shade of grey for a second.

"That must be annoying," Lunian said gently after piecing together what the dragon said. Seeing the confusion in her face he added, "Lia has been teaching me the languages of other immortals. She can understand us all without learning."

The dragon nodded solemnly, _'You might want to keep that to yourself for as long as possible or, since he already told Mama and Numair, to ask them not to tell,'_ she said to Lia.

The girl nodded as Daine came back in the room with cloths, bandages and salve, "Duke Baird, the head of our healers, will want to look you over later, but for now I need to clean your wounds and bandage them back up."

The girl nodded and turned her back to the Wild Mage, letting the blanket slip down, revealing her half healed back. She stayed quiet as the worst wounds were cleaned with a stinging liquid.

Once she was finished, Lia sighed and sat back gingerly, "Thank you for taking care of me, Lady. I know it must have been confusing taking care of someone that you couldn't talk to or get to respond in any way. I was just so out of sync with the world."

"It wasn't the first time and it probably won't be the last," Daine said, patting her on the shoulder, "Just don't call me Lady. It's Daine and that's it, understand Ontillia?"

"Yes La…. Daine but you must call me Lia then," the girl responded.

At that time the baby started to cry, making Daine get up and go care for him.

"She seems nice enough," Lunian said quietly before yawning loudly.

"Sorry for making you have to hunt me down again."

"What are friends for? Just try to stay out of trouble for a day or so this time," came the response.

They waited in silence until Numair returned with three maids bearing trays of food. Daine joined them at the table and let the girl eat her fill as they nibbled at smaller amounts themselves. The only surprise came when Lunain's stomach rumbled at the smell of food. Lia glanced over at him and uttered some words under her breath at his shrug. Food started flowing into the air at a level that he could reach easily with his mouth since he didn't have the hands to pick it up for himself.

"I thought that Stormwings didn't need to eat, or rather, you only feed on the leavings of war and fear," Numair said.

"Most of the time that's true, but I'm young and am still growing. I need to eat a large quantity of your food to grow. If I were like my brethren, I would go to a battlefield and take my sustainus there, because if I don't eat then I won't age and come into my powers," Lunian replied with a shrug.

"Plus, when I found him, he was a baby and couldn't feed himself, and neither I nor my parents were going to go out and find a battlefield and bring home his natural food," Lia mumbled through a bit of food.

The two older people wanted to ask how the two friends had come to be with each other, but the king had ordered that they not question, her so they let them finish their food in silence.

* * *

That afternoon, their majesties, along with some others such as his son and daughter-in-law, Garth the second, Alanna, and Buri, arrived while Lia was playing with Numair and Daine's daughter, Sarra. The king watched the girl flout steel feathers in front of the younger girl changing the colors as fast as the Sarra named them. He saw the Wilima nose prominate on her face but also the gentle and innocent eyes of a child that had seen too much at a young age and had traveled far. She was still thin, but he could see the hardness beneath the frail seeming.

He looked over at the one from which the feather must have come and saw to his surprise a young youth of a Stormwing perched sleeping near the window. His hair was tidy, as was his appearance, and he didn't smell as all the other Stormwings king Jonathon the Third had met.

Noticing him, the little girl got up and ran over to hug him and Thayet yelling, "Uncle Jon… Aunt Thyt..."

"Hello, youngling. You been having fun today?" the king said, ruffling her hair.

"Yes. Do you want to meet my new friend? She was a wolf but now she's human and she can do magic!" the little girl exclaimed. "And she has a friend that's a Stormwig and he's really nice!"

"Yes, I think I would like to meet them. Would you introduce us?" Thayet asked, smiling down at the girl.

The queen had her hesitations of this girl claiming to be her relative. She barely remembered her Uncle; he left when she was very young. The only thing that she remembered about him was that he was very nice to her and would give her piggy back rides around the castle. This girl that looked over at them was clearly scared witless but proud in her own small way. Her movements were trained; though not as a royal would be trained, but as a servant would bow to a king. But she was most definitely of her blood line.

Sarra ran over to the now standing Ontillia and pulled her over. Looking up at the adults, she braced herself and clearly as possible said, "Your majesties I, Ontillia, put myself at you mercy," and curtsied as a lower royal to another. Apparently, someone had taught her the moves.

"Rise, Ontillia. It seems to me that cousins should not be subservient to one another," Thayet said gently, putting a hand on one of the girl's thin shoulders. She could only be around Lianna's age, after all, and she was so thin and weak looking. The haunted look in her eye made Thayet want to just hold her tight forever as she would with her own children.

The girl stood upright and looked at the king and queen and their entourage, sizing them up. Lunian moved slightly on his perch, causing everyone to look at him, and Lia said, "Please call me Lia, Ma'am, and this Lunian. He's saved my life several times." She held the eyes of those before her, one after another, never wavering in her gaze, though she shook in fear at times.

Lunian stepped off the perch and onto some rock-looking things with flat bottoms and slowly made his way over. He stopped at an inoffensive distance and made his bow, "My Lords and Ladies."

"Sarra, come. It's time for your nap, little one," Daine called from the nursery door.

"Yes Mama," the little girl said, unsure of her new friends' actions.

"Make yourselves comfortable," Numair invited, coming from his study and taking a cushioned seat.

Ontillia took a chair close to Lunian and waited for everyone to settle and for Daine to return. A few seconds of silence pervaded the room as Lia tried to calm her thoughts.

Finally, Lunian stroked her leg with a claw, careful not to cut her. She smiled over at him before beginning. "As I told Numair and Daine, my name is Ontillia _jian_ Wilima. I am Queen Thayet's cousin through her father, the former warlord of Sarain. I don't know if you remember, but your father had a younger half brother, Menthin," she paused and looked at the Queen.

"Yes, I vaguely remember him," she said with a smile. "I liked him. He would give me rides through the castle sometimes, but he was exiled when I was about seven for having a son with his wife. My father didn't want my uncle to get the throne. I remember something about how it was a miracle that he didn't just have his brother killed."

"Apparently, my grandfather and your father were close at one point when they were younger. Yes, that son that you remember being born was my father. Grandfather moved him and grandma to a northern village, one of those out of the way places that no one knows the name of. Da married my mom when they were about seventeen and had Ritchard a year or so after. Life went fairly well for about ten years, until Grandda told my brother about our heritage." She paused for a moment.

"That was a year before I was born. They didn't realize how ambitious my brother was. He gathered quite a following by the time I was five to rebel against Lord Anduo." Lia took a deep breath, trying to remove the emotion from her voice. "The Lord found out and came for us two years later. Dad saw them and came running from the field where he was working." Stopping to blink the tears away, she took another deep breath. "Ritchard was in the town with his 'army' when they hit and was killed in the first wave. Well, the Lord's army had orders to kill all the residents in the town and the outlying areas. Da stuffed me and Lunian into the niches in the well where we kept the milk during the summer. He tried to get Ma down there, but was too late. He barely had time to cover the well before they hit." She bit her lip and looked down at her hands as she twisted them. Lunian also bowed his head and surprised the gathered humans by having tears streaming down his face.

Ontillia mastered herself again and continued, "We came out after the noise had stopped for several minutes. They were all dead or almost dead. Da lay right beside the well. We think he died right after pulling the covering. The only one left alive was my Ma, but even I knew that she was dying. Her leg had been cut open badly, and she had healed it the best she could, but it wasn't enough and I didn't know enough to heal her. That's when she told me about my heritage and why she cried when I was born."

"A curse was set on one of my great-grandmothers so that all the daughters of her line would be happy only long enough to raise a family and have a daughter of their own. That daughter would then become able to care for herself and then her family would die, leaving her alone. The cycle will continue until a daughter of that line gains the forgiveness of the goddess that our great-grandmother offended." She stopped and just breathed for a moment. Daine came over and hugged the small girl. The story was just too much like her own, except that Daine had been old enough to take care of herself.

"How did you survive?" Thayet asked as gently as possible when the child released and pushed away Daine only to lean into Lunain's chest. He had moved behind her during the story.

* * *

**Okay so that chapter was getting a bit long so I'll continue with that through next chapter. I'll try to keep it short, but, well for those of you that know my writings, I tend to have stories that have to be told and I can't figure out how to tell them without doing something like this.**


	5. A Good Place

Chapter 5:

**Sorry for the wait everyone. I sent this over to my editor during the beginning of her mid-terms and the prep for mine. It's one of those things were two people can't quite keep in sync. Happy fall break for all of you in school, whether it be high school or college.**

Chapter 5: A Good Place

Once her nerves calmed, she answered the queen. "A pack of wolves lived nearby and they heard my call." Seeing the looks of confusion, she elaborated. "I can talk to animals and such from my mother's side of the family, and then I got the Gift from my grandmother. They taught me the best they could, but I surpassed them eventually and had to learn things on my own. That caused trouble a couple of times. But back to the wolves, my mother had a deal going with them. They would not feed off the local herds and no one would kill them and, if the winter was bad, our family would give them food. In exchange, they decided to also guard me. They would sometimes take me back to their lair if Mother and Father were working the fields. I soon knew all the pups very well and would play with them for hours on end. So when they heard me crying that night, they came as fast as they could.

"I lived with them for a couple months, but apparently one of the villagers was in service to Lord Anduo and told that I wasn't one of the bodies that they burned. I ran with all I could. Lunian helped, but he was only just learning to fly and couldn't carry much. I was also pretty obvious to anyone if I went to a village with a young Stormwing as a friend. So I kept moving.

"I headed North, hoping that they wouldn't follow me that well but the Lord decided that I'd make a good wife for his heir. I then turned into Scanra, believing they wouldn't follow me into such a country and on they came for four years. Then just on your side of the Scanra border they caught me. With the help of a maid that they held captive, I was able to escape, but not before they tortured me. At least they couldn't magic me, though they tried. Lunian carried me in a sling as far as he could before they started shooting at us and he went down. I found some wolves in the area and collapsed and then woke up here," she sighed as she finished her story.

Duke Baird, who had joined them, asked, "Why didn't our magic work on you? We tried to heal you, but…"

"Was anyone hurt!" Lia interrupted, sitting up, worried.

"No, why would anyone be hurt?" Daine answered.

"Our village mid-wife was also a seer. She foretold that I would endure great hardships and tragedies. To help me, she cast a spell that made it impossible for magic other than my own to touch me. It usually rebounds on the caster. It's helped in the past when someone decided to go against orders and kill me with a fireball," she said, relaxing some but not completely.

"You need sleep child," the Duke said suddenly. "You've been healing yourself and as your healer I'm ordering you to bed."

"Yes sir," the girl replied trying not to yawn.

Letting the girl get to bed and moving their conference to a private library of the king's, they continued their deliberations.

"What will you tell the conservatives?" Numair asked. "We just finished a war with Scanra; few will want to chance another so soon."

"Why tell them anything of yet? Anduo may decide he's had enough of chasing her and leave her be," Jonathon replied calmly.

"We'll tell them that she is my cousin that I'm adopting since she's lost her family. It will be true and legal in that way," Thayet said, agreeing with her husband.

"You'll need someone to escort her around the castle and to make sure she doesn't get into trouble," Gary added rationally, as always.

"Perhaps I could do that?" a small voice suggested from a chair that faced the other way. Princess Lianne stood and bowed to her elders.

"Lianne, what have I told you of eavesdropping?" Jonathon said sternly.

"That I shouldn't. But then again, why didn't you check the room before speaking of such a private matter, Father?" she replied.

The king turned to his champion and said, "You've tainted my children with your pert attitude."

"Perhaps you shouldn't have named me god-mother then, my Lord," the Lioness replied with a smile.

Giving up this battle of wits with so many females, he turned to his daughter and agreed to let her escort her cousin around the palace and get her accustomed to it.

?????

Waking up, Lia tensed. She was in clean cloths, on a clean bed, and Lunian wasn't in the room.

"He said he was going to get some things he left in the forest for you," a girl's voice said from the side of her bed.

Lia relaxed as the previous day returned to her and opened her eyes to look at the speaker. It was obvious who she must be with that raven black hair and royal blue eyes. "So are you my keeper or my jailer, Highness?"

The princess laughed and said, "Neither, for I'm your cousin, tour guide, and hopefully your friend."

Through the open window Lunian sailed through gracefully, dropping the bags he carried in his claws before landing lightly on his shoes. "You'd better be glad I brought all your stuff, girl. My elders ridiculed me all the way in," he said teasingly.

"Send them to me if they get too bad, flapper." Looking over him, she continued, "Man, you need a bath soon. Guess I better get up," She swung her legs out of bed and stood. The room spun for a moment before settling. _I've been in bed too long._

"Should you be getting up so soon?" the princess asked worriedly, coming over, "Uncle said you would probably be in bed for a few more days."

"I heal fast… Um sorry but I don't think I know your name, cousin," Ontillia said uncertainly.

"My name is Lianne, though I go by Lia," the princess responded

Ontillia smiled and said, "We might have a problem. You see, my name is Ontillia and I too go by Lia."

The princess laughed, as did Lunian. "I'm sure we'll find some way to separate ourselves. Since you're up, do you want to go down and eat with the pages and squires that are here for the summer? Their classes haven't started back and my brothers are both pages. Or we can have something brought up."

"We can go down, Highness."

"Call me Lianne or Lia. We're cousins and you'll find that we're not too traditional here in Tortall. Or rather, we're not here in the capital," the princess broke in.

"Yes. Lianne, do you think it would fine if Lunian joined us?" Ontillia asked shyly.

Lianne looked at the young Stormwing. He did need a bath to clean him up, but he didn't stink really. "It would be different anyway, and I heard that he eats human food, so I think it would be a novel idea. Besides, we'll have to get the boys used to a 'tame' Stormwing. If you'll forgive the term, sir," she said, looking at Lunian.

"Oh I don't mind. Just leave off the 'sir'. I'm no king, nor do I ever want to become one. Just call me Lunian, your highness," he said with a bow.

"Call me Lianne then. Well, I hope you don't mind, but we fitted you for cloths, Lia," the princess said, handing over a stack of cloths.

"Thank you, Lia," Ontillia replied with a smile as took the clothes and proceeded to dress in breeches and shirt. Once that was done, and her own black hair put into a more manageable hair tie, they made their way to the dining hall for pages and squires.

They went slowly, mainly for Ontillia's benefit, since Lunian was so graceful on his shoes. When they came to the doors leading into the room, Lianne had them wait a moment for one of those pauses that happens during any event, where everyone stops talking at the same moment.

As soon as it happened, the princess breezed in followed more calmly by Ontillia and Lunian. She led the way through the serving line and to a table. When the boys first saw Lunian they all jumped to their feet and grabbed for swords, even if they were only pot metal. When they realized that he was with the princess, they sat back down and stared. Lord haMintch looked the immortal over before looking at the princess. She looked back and raised an eyebrow and smiled innocence. The training master shook his head and went back to his meal and speaking with another man.

Once they got their food, Lianne led them to a table occupied by four boys. Two were obviously her brothers Jasson and Liam, a third had red blonde hair and mischievous hazel eyes, while the fourth seemed to be the odd one out with his blonde, almost white, hair and blue eyes. He was also the youngest of the group.

"What have you done now, little sister?" the oldest brother asked.

"It looks like she's befriended a Stormwing," the younger brother responded for her.

"At least it's a clean Stormwing," the red-head said with a grin to the blonde.

The blonde grinned at Ontillia and said, "Or perhaps your sister befriended your cousin and her friend as well," he said in a quiet voice.

Lianne rolled her eyes and sat down, "Ontillia, let me introduce you to my brothers. Jasson is the squire and Liam is a third year page. The redhead is Alan of Pirates Swoop and the quiet one is Tannel of Blue Harbor. He's going to be a second year page this year. Boys, this is Ontillia, our cousin from mother's side of the family, as you already know, and her friend Lunian…"

"Lunian Brightstar at your service, my Lords," Lunian interrupted with a bow.

The boys had all heard the gossip about their cousin and her friend, but they hadn't expected to meet them so soon and looked her over speculatively.

"How do you know about me my Lords?" Ontillia asked quietly.

"Oh, you'll find that this place is a sieve of information. There are very few secrets, and those secrets are too important for servants to tell," Tannel replied with a smile.

Ontillia nodded and started to eat, ignoring the looks at the third tray in front of Lunian. She smiled and whispered a word or two and the food started floating up to where the Stormwing could get at it. Seeing their looks, the immortal glanced over at them and said, "What? I have to eat to grow too, or would you rather that I eat the way my brethren do?"

The boys and Lianne turned various shades of green and shook their heads in union as Ontillia giggled into her hand. This was a good place to live. Maybe she could stay, at least for a short time.


	6. Questions Unanswered

Yes I know for those of you reading my ML fic that I've used this title before but it works here too.

Chapter 6: Questions Unanswered

Lianne took her back up to Daine and Numair's rooms, where she would stay for the time being that night, in a good mood. After taking them all over the castle, both Ontillia and Lunian were tired. Lunian had gone out to the roofs where he could sleep better. Ontillia played with Sarra for a bit to keep the little girl out from underfoot while Rikash was being fed. If Sarra had her way, she and Ontillia wouldn't have gotten to bed that night. As it was, Ontillia fell asleep without even pulling the covers over herself.

Daine crept into the room and pulled the blanket over the girl. Testimonial to how wary Ontillia still was, she opened her eyes and, upon seeing who it was, just smiled, but Daine had seen the girl's odd multi-colored magic flaring around her hands before that. Going back to her husband, who stood at the door, they looked in at the slumbering child before closing the door.

"Jon says that they need to present her formally to the court soon before too many rumors get started," Numair said, kissing Daine.

"Why? It isn't like it's the courts business," Daine said, furrowing her brow.

"Yes, but she's from a war-torn country and some seem to believe that she is an agent sent to evaluate our forces in advance of the Saran army," Numair replied.

"I just can feel for her. She's lost her whole family and has been on the run for years. I only ran for a short while and even then I had Cloud," Daine said with a sad smile. Cloud, the pony that was the only other survivor from Daine's home, had died the year before, leaving Daine feeling empty and lost without her first friend.

"She had Lunian, and he's almost as good as human. I think the only reason he isn't completely clean is he doesn't have the hands to wash himself," Numair said with a gentle laugh. "She'll be fine. I wouldn't worry too much about her." With that, he kissed her again before sweeping her up into a bridal cradle and taking her to their bed.

????

It wasn't until hours later that what Numair said about not worrying about Ontillia came back to haunt them.

They woke knowing something was wrong. Pulling on dressing robes, they went to the room where their guest slept. At first they didn't realize anything was wrong until they heard a cry from inside.

Numair opened the door to a whirl wind. It was eerily silent. The only thing making a sound was Ontillia as she cried in her sleep. Daine tried to go to the girl but a force held her back. Numair was about to use his power when Lunian burst through the shuttered window. Awkward without his shoes, he made his way over to the bed, ducking a flying candlestick. When he finally arrived, he bent down and whispered in the girl's ear. Ontillia sat up, startled and confused. The wind stopped and sound returned just as everything came crashing down. Luckily nothing breakable had been in the room. Ontillia looked up at Daine and Numair, embarrassed, and shifted quickly into an owl and flew out the window, leaving Lunian behind with the humans.

Lunian looked at them for a moment. "She says sorry. It was a nightmare."

"Will she be alright?" Daine asked in a motherly tone.

"Once she calms down some, yes, but you should understand that the men that captured her didn't really care about her mental stability as a wife to their lord's son. They just wanted someone from the old line to make their claim more legitimate." Lunian looked down and his feathers tightened in anger. "They did horrible things to her that she won't tell me. I fear that if she doesn't open up to someone, she will go crazy. Tonight, though, she just needs to rest and know that you aren't angry at her."

"Tell her we're not mad and to come back whenever she's ready," Numair said with a smile at the young Stormwing.

Lunian smiled back appreciatively and flew out the window into the pitch black night.

????

"How mad are they?" Ontillia asked as Lunian landed beside her.

"They aren't mad. Worried, but not mad. You've won their hearts over already," he responded gently. They were silent for awhile before Lunian asked, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Ontillia sat quietly before saying, "You know more than I want you to through my little weird power."

"Little Lia, your gift is different from the Gift and wild magic, but you must embrace it. Besides, I wouldn't have known that you needed help tonight with out it," Lunian said with a sigh as they went through a long battle that wouldn't end until she came to understand herself.

Lia flinched at his use of his pet name for her. She looked up at him from where she lay on the ground, searching his face for answers. The past couple of years it seemed that he knew something about her but wouldn't tell her what it was. She had seen his warning looks to other immortals not to tell her as well. For the most part, she tried to ignore it and not worry about it because he would tell her when she needed to know, but lately it had been gnawing at her like a dog on a bone. "I want some time alone to think," she said before changing into a bat and flying off.

Lunian watched her leave and, when she was gone, he looked up at the star lit sky and asked, "Why do you not forgive her family? It wasn't her." Not hearing any answer, not really expecting one, he took off and went back to his perch.

From the shadows a tall man wearing a black robe smiled. "Soon, if all goes right," he replied before disappearing back into the shadows, leaving behind a black cat with purple eyes. The cat shook its self before trotting up and into the palace like it knew where it was going.

???????

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed and are now thinking a bit. Sorry for the length but I needed to get some things introduced like her odd power linking her to immortals. Hope everyone has a great weekend!**

**Oh just a few quotes that I felt I should add since for those of us in school are headed towards finals.**

I have spread my dreams beneath your feet. Tread softly because you tread on my dreams.  
**W.B. Yeats**

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined.  
**Henry David Thoreau **

All men dream but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes to make it possible.  
**T.E. Lawrence**

**Hi, Kokou here. Just thought I'd add a few more quotes.**

Existence would be intolerable if we were never to dream.

**Anatole France**

I am a dreamer. I am, indeed, a practical dreamer. My dreams are not airy nothings. I want to convert my dreams into realities, as far as possible.

**Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Ghandi**

Prolonged idleness paralyzes initiative.

**Anonymous**

Lost time is never found again,

**John Hill Aughey**

The way to be nothing is to do nothing.

**Nathaniel Howe**


	7. Cats and Feathers

AN: Sorry for the wait guys. I had this chapter all written and was about to send it my beta (love you Kokou) and my computer died and yours truly didn't have the file saved on flash drive. So after all the hassle of the holidays I'm back.

Chapter 7: Cats and Feathers

Alanna stretched at her desk when the door creaked open and a black cat walked in the room. Not thinking anything of it she continued on her report on suspicious bands of bandits that had been plaguing the countryside recently.

The cat jumped to the top of the desk scattering papers and spilling the ink. Alanna swore and went to swipe the cat off the table when she saw the violet eyes looking at her and sat back in the chair with a thump, "Faithful…"

"How many black cats do you know?" the cat meowed at her licking a paw.

Alanna stared at the cat for a few moments before saying glibly, "Well if you count the three in the stables then 7 but none of them have come back from the dead before."

The cat looked up at her and with a swish of the tail in amusement, "You have grown, before you would never have made a joke like that."

"Being mortal means a person can change usually," the King's Champion responded, "Speaking of coming back from the dead. Why are you here?"

"To guide someone that is a pentacle of potential change, though this time without approval. You will be the only person from my last life that will remember me. Pretend not to or I won't be allowed to help at all. I'm not usually allowed to come to the Mortal Realm again so quickly after the last time," was Faithful's response as he sat dignified on the desk.

"May I ask who this person would be?" Alanna asked half knowing the answer.

"You'll find out after she does. For now I must tell you to beware of your patron for the time being," Faithful said jumping down off the desk and slipping out the door.

?????

Ontillia leaned against the fence watching two squires face off against each other on the practice courts. They were so graceful and swift that it looked like they were dancing and not practicing to kill someone.

"Good aren't they?" Liam said coming up behind her and startling her.

A brief glow around her hands showed how on edge she still was even after being at the palace for two weeks. "Yes they are it's like they're not even trying," Ontillia responded.

"That's because they've been working with the Lioness for the past year as a favor to their knight masters," Liam explained.

They stood there watching for a few minutes more as the squires finished their bout. Ontillia pushed herself upright and was about to head back to her rooms that were now in the guest wing when Liam asked, "Would you like to try to learn a bit of how to use a weapon?"

Ontillia stared at him before saying with a laugh, "The most I've ever used was a bow and knife. I'd probably gut myself trying to use a sword."

"That's why you don't start with a sword," Liam said with a smile, "but with a staff. Look, yes it wasn't too long ago that women weren't allowed to fight except to guard their husband's lands when he was away. These days though, we have two female knights, one of which is the Champion, not to mention the Riders who take women into their ranks. Now if you don't want to I'll understand but just learning some staff work could help you if you are attacked."

Ontillia pondered this for a few minutes before nodding and shyly smiling at Liam, "I'd like to learn then."

"Good," the page responded and lead the way to the armory and then to the practice courts.

????

Ontillia winced as someone tapped her shoulder on her way to her rooms, "Ontillia are you alright? You're walking like you're injured," the youngest princess asked.

"Your brother talked me into some basic staff practice…" was all the girl was able to get out before Lianne interrupted.

"I'm going to kill him. He should know better than to be rough a beginner," she said loudly.

"Lianne don't worry about it. I let my guard slip a little and he got me. It doesn't hurt to bad but I shouldn't have done it so soon after my last injury. It's my fault. Besides you should see the bruises he's got on his ribs from where I got him once or twice," the younger brunette said with a small smile.

"Wait you got my brother? Which one were you practicing with?" the princess said stunned.

"Liam, why?"

"You mean you got a hit on Liam? Was he pretending at all?"

Confused Ontillia replied, "He seemed surprised almost with my ability actually."

"You must be a natural. Liam doesn't get beaten often and usually only by the likes of Aunt Alanna or Uncle Gary," the princess said with a smile, "Oh he is going to be so embarrassed."

"Don't hold it over him in front of the others," Ontillia said sympathizing with her male cousin.

"Oh I won't… in front of others," the princess said with a smile and led the way to dinner.

????

That night Ontillia walked restlessly around her room. It was on one of the highest levels of the palace so that Lunian could come and go as he wished. She paced awhile wondering where her winged friend was before going to the window. Deciding quickly she locked her door and went again to the window and changed swiftly into a bat. Going outside she listened around for the echoes that only come from a steel winged creature. Not finding any she decided to relax a bit and map out the castle better from this vantage point.

As she went over a small garden she heard the cries of something hurt below. Cautiously she swooped down and listened and heard it to be a cat. Making sure no one was around she landed ungracefully near a tree and morphed back to her human form. A young black kitten was against the tree mewing in pain and hissed slightly when she picked it up.

From the looks of it a bow or something had tried to snatch him for dinner and dropped the kitten from the air. One leg was jutting at an odd angle. Not wanting to be seen but unable to take the kitten back to her room in its current state she looked at the densely leafed tree above her and carefully thought of what she wanted exactly and summoned part of the bronze that made up who she was and jumped. Wings that grew out of her shoulders helped carry her up to a thick branch and she landed with as gracefully as she could.

Once seated she leaned back against the tree and looked at the kitten using the same bronze power as before and Looked to see all that was wrong. Not only was the leg broken but a rib had been snapped and punctured the lung.

Holding the rib away from the lung Ontillia healed the lung. By asking the tissue to bind together and for the infection that had started to leave she healed the lung quickly. Getting the bones to knit back took longer and was harder and by the time she'd finished she dripped in sweat and was starving.

Looking at the moon the girl realized that it must be close to midnight. Cradling the kitten close she glided down to the ground using the wings to slow her descent.

"That was an impressive performance," Daine said from the shadows.

Ontillia instantly froze, startled, "How did you know I was here?"

"She came to me frantic when she came to your room last night and you weren't there. Gave the palace quite a scare," Lunian said from above, "A new pet?" he finished with a raised eyebrow.

Ontillia looked down at the kitten that sniffed her fingers looking for food. "Looks like, he is a sweet little thing….." she trailed off when she saw the eyes on the kitten. Bright violet eyes looked up at her as the kitten mewed again and rubbed his head against her palm.

"Here wrap up before you catch cold. You can take him up to your room," Daine said enclosing Lia in a blanket.

The girl shrugged out of it and shook her head, "Thanks but I'll get back the less traditional way," and closed her eyes and shrunk slightly and let the wings grow. Leaping off the ground with a strong burst and the kitten tucked carefully in her shorter arms the girl flew back to her rooms.

Daine looked after her before turning to Lunian, "How long has she been doing that?"

"Several years… why?" the Stormwing answered with a fake look of innocence.

Apparently it fooled the wild mage who shook her head and started back to the palace thinking,_ Maybe it was the light… those feathers looked like a lot like metal though._

???

AN: Ok figured that was long enough and even gave you a sort of cliff hanger. Can anyone remember why metal feathers might be a bad thing though? :D


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